BA '51
I chose CCNY because I could afford it; I had gotten one of the state scholarships, which would have enabled me to attend Cornell free of charge, but attending an out-of-town college would have been financially a major problem. CCNY was my choice of any state college or college within New York state. I was a comparative literature major. There were three professors who made very lasting impressions on me. One was a new instructor at the time, Marvin Magalaner, who taught English 101. He later became well-known as an authority on James Joyce. Professor Theodore Goodman taught creative writing. What I remember from him was that he taught me to listen. He introduced himself, wrote his name on the blackboard, and said, 'If there is anything on which I want you to take notes, I will write it on the blackboard. If I see any of you picking up a pencil to write something that I had not written on the blackboard you're out of this class. I'm teaching creative writing, not secretarial skills.' What I also realized from him was that I was not a creative writer, but I was a good editor. Joseph Taffet was in the Economics Department and was teaching two courses that I took as electives. One was personal finance, and the other was corporate finance. I probably learned more about financial things in that class than I did later on. He was a brilliant teacher. His favorite saying was, 'Those who can, do, those who can't, teach, and those who can't teach, teach methods of education.' The corporate finance course, which taught me the basics of reading Wall Street information and annual reports, served me all my life. I was drafted immediately into the Army. I was sent for basic training down to Arkansas to speak the world and was trained in artillery. Because of my background and what I had learned at CCNY, I was given a military occupational specialty. I got a terrific education at CCNY, which prepared me for a lot of my career.