University of Virginia Library

James and Ellin Deese

Academic Couple Discovers 'Sense Of Community'

Profile

By ELIZABETH JOHNSON

"We live a fairly normal life.
We like to travel, we have
similar interests," said James E.
Deese when asked to describe
the lifestyle that he and his
wife, Ellin, enjoy. "I can play
the piano better than she," he
added with a twinkle in his
eye.

The Deeses claim to be "an
ordinary couple". Students,
however, see the duo in a much
different light.

Mr. Deese can be found
Monday through Friday in
Gilmer Hall where he is
Commonwealth Professor and
Chairman of the Psychology
Department. Mrs. Deese
martials her activities from the
Dean's Office on the fourth
floor of Cabell Hall. She is
Dean of the Alderman Road
Association.

Both seem impressed with
the University since their
arrival on the Grounds this fall.
"The University has the
advantages of both a private
and state institution," Mr.
Deese remarked. "It is a
relatively small state university
now. I hope it doesn't increase
its size too much. It is barely
on the dividing line of being
too big," he noted.

Feeling Of Community

"I've been impressed with
the University since I've been
here," added Mrs. Deese. "I
would expect in a school this
size to see much
fragmentation, but in my

contacts with students at
Graves Mountain and through
counseling, I have perceived a
great feeling of community."

As Chairman of the
Psychology department, Mr.
Deese deals with administrative
matters, serves as spokesman
for the department, and
coordinates the department as
a whole.

He described the department
as "very good" "It's
traditionally strong wing has
always been in experimental
and physiological psychology,
but it has now begun to move
into other fields."

Department Needs To Grow

Mr. Deese hopes to
accelerate this movement.
"The department needs to
grow. We have a hard time
meeting student needs; we are
swamped with majors. I just
hope the department will
remain small enough so that
people in specialties can talk
and work together."

Mr. Deese was born in Salt
Lake City. He received his A.B.
from Chapman College in
California and his A.M. and
Ph.D. from Indiana University.
He has served as professor at
both Johns Hopkins and the
University of California. Mr.
and Mrs. Deese met while she
was a student of his at Indiana
University.

First Woman Dean

Mrs. Deese, as Alderman
Road Association Dean, is
responsible for the academic
affairs of about 700 students.
The first women to hold such a
post, Mrs. Deese said that her
job was mainly one of
academic advising, although
she also works as a liaison
between the Dean's office and
the Student Affairs Office,
especially in the advising of
first-year students. As dean
Mrs. Deese is replacing Assoc.
English Prof. Charles A.
Vandersee who is on leave
from the University this year.

Although she does not feel
qualified to comment this early
on the college curriculum, she
thinks that the current
language requirement plays a
vital role in each student's
course of study.

"It seems a shame not to
have the exposure to another
culture that you can get only
by language. I think it's part of
being educated," she said.

Meet With Students

In order to have more
contact with students, Mrs.
Deese plans to spend every
Tuesday afternoon from 4 to
5.30 in Webb House Lounge
"Students should feel that the
academic dean is always
accessible."

Born in New York City, she
grew up in Washington D.C.,
and received her A.B. from
George Washington University.
After graduating, she taught
school and did psychology
testing for two years. Mrs.
Deese did graduate work at
both UCLA and Berkeley and
received her M.A. in teaching
at Johns Hopkins University.
Shortly afterwords she became
assistant principal and college
counselor at the Park School in
Baltimore, Md. The Deeses
have two children, ages 19 and
21.

"We had been considering
the University for some time
before we came," asserted Mr.
Deese. "Now that we are here,
we are not disappointed."