The first time I ever saw Dean Nygreen he was delivering the welcoming remarks at an orientation for the freshman class of 1968, in the Little Theatre…On stage, I saw an affable man with a ready smile and an openness that seemed somehow different from the edgier New Yorker personalities I had become familiar with in high school. The Dean—as he came to be identified by many of us, to the exclusion of every other dean we would ever meet—The Dean was all boundless energy.
During my senior year, I allowed my friends to convince me that I should run for CASA President. I was helped in this by the fact that student apathy during elections was at its height, so anyone who got more than a couple of hundred votes was sure to get elected.
Despite these advantages, the election was a squeaker … and I managed to win it by a mere 38 votes out of over 500 cast. This was the beginning of my relationship with Glen Nygreen. There are two phrases that reverberate in my brain with his inimitable Pacific Northwest tilt. "Hi, my friend!" (We were all his friend…) And the other was over the phone, "This is Glen Nygreen!?" The voice of reason.
I was very green at the job of CASA President, and Dean Nygreen saw an opportunity to help out. You have to remember this was 1971, anti-war demonstrations were at their peak, and a confrontational style between activist students and those in authority had become the norm.
At Lehman we had had a couple of building takeovers, not very serious, but handled with minimal police intervention. I think this was so, in great part, thanks to the prevailing cool head of our Dean of Students.
There was a depth of understanding that Glen brought to most situations. This wisdom of his arose from being able to take a long view of things, and not giving in to the impulse to react immediately or to overreact. And so, he would engage in negotiations in such a way that made you think were more important than anything going on at the United Nations. And he would always make sure that they would go on as long as the negotiations at the United Nations.
Dean Nygreen could have run circles around Henry Kissinger. He was the ultimate diplomat. He knew not to push too far. His approach was not the "zero sum game." He made sure there was always a win/win in the midst of all the posturing and speechifying. He managed to give people the feeling that their actions had somehow paid off. We might not have gotten everything we set out to get, but we got enough to make our efforts seem worthwhile. And in the process, if we were willing, we could also discover and learn from a master of the art of dialogue.
In that same process of give-and-take, I also discovered a friend and a mentor. Someone gracious, kind, available, supportive, and willing to speak the unvarnished truth if he felt it would be of benefit to me, even when it was uncomfortable.
While many people receive public accolades, many others, like Glen Nygreen, deliver priceless gifts in the unsung world of friendship and mentorship. In the long run, those who affect our personal lives make the greater difference in our destiny.
When I was a young student at Lehman, I would tend to think too much when facing questions about what is the right action or what is the right livelihood for me. I am, still now, someone who tends to think too much about the possible choices. But Glen Nygreen has provided an inspirational model that I have attempted to follow through the many challenges, joys, and sometimes the tortuous byways I have chosen to travel in my life. Glen taught me that as important as it is to follow one's ambitions, it is more important to follow one's heart.
It has taken me many years to accumulate enough grace to be able to stand in front of you, Dean Nygreen.
On behalf of those of us whose lives you've touched, and who in turn were moved to touch the lives of others, I am honored to be able to deliver the good news of our grateful hearts with a simple,
THANK YOU, Glen T. Nygreen