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Germino Lends Personality To Work

By Walter Bardenwerper

Dante Germino came to the
University as a Professor of
Political Theory in 1968. A
dedicated and contemplative
man, Mr. Germino has entered
the life of his students adding
his personality to his teaching
style in an unforgettable
manner.

His intellect and life style
have attracted many serious
students to his course and to
his friendship.

Mr. Germino "opted for the
contemplative life" upon
graduating Summa Cum Laude
from Duke in 1952. Passing up law
school and politics, he went to
Harvard to become assistant to Carl
J. Friedrich, one of the most
famous political scientists of the
century. Mr. Friedrich's suggestion
that he do a definitive work on
Italian Fascism initiated a Fulbright
Grant and a trip to Italy which
culminated in his dissertation.

After teaching 10 years at
Wellesley, he undertook a
three-year Rockefeller Foundation
Professorship at the University of
the Philippines, where he taught
essentially the same courses on
Political Theory that he now
teaches here.

Mr. Germino dispels every
vestige of the "Ugly American"
while teaching, advising, and
recruiting scholars in Quezon City.
His students here recall subtle
comments on the tragedy of the
American Imperialism of 1898, a
subject which lends to his
frustration at the present Asian
situation.

His sense of obligation to the
South where he had grown up, in
addition to the attraction of the
University's Center For Advanced
Studies brought him to the
University in 1968. Since then, the
environment here coupled with his
belief in the "relaxed but creative"
atmosphere have seemingly
deepened his contentment here.

Last March, he appeared on the
NET Program "Firing Line" with
William F. Buckley, to discuss the
problems related to ROTC on
college campuses. His ideas were a
keynote to the debate over the
ROTC status at the University, and
major changes were made in the
direction of his proposal.

His thoughts on the future of
the University are radical, but
optimistic. He has proposed a
"paradigm" which is similar to that
of Lester Beaurline. "I am not the
one for the practical details of
implementation," he explained.
Nevertheless, the proposal is
essentially a, "residential college of
between 100 and 200 students.
They (the students) would be
chosen primarily on their ability to
exercise initiative and self-direction.
There would be no grades, but
instead the students would be
personally evaluated by members of
the faculty."

While not certain where the
college would be located (the Lawn
would presumably be ideal), there
would be a maximum of
interrelationship between the
faculty and the students in the
attempt to create a more integrated
educational experience.

Contact with Mr. Germino
substantiates the validity of the
final point. He is a man dedicated
to the understanding of the
complexities of political
philosophy, but he regards life as an
integrated whole, wherein an
educational system, to be effective,
must realize the importance of
learning outside the classroom.

Professor Germino's home is
filled with memorabilia from his
years in the Philippines, but
somehow he gives the impression
that the past has taught him the
importance thinking for the future.

In addition to his conviction
that the University can and must
change to enhance the development
of each individual, he is concerned
that the political thought of the
world not degenerate to mere
popularism. People must continue
to be critical and honest about
what is happening and what would
be better, according to the scholar.

Mr. Germino is a quiet man. His
concern for the care of his wife
Virginia and his five children, as
well as his life (he is on the Vestry
at Trinity Episcopal Church) shows
the same respect for thought and
contemplation that is in his writing.
His new book, "From Machiavelli
To Marx," comprises what his
course Political Theory 101 deals
with, namely, the development of
political thought in the "modern"
period. Theorizing that we may now
be in a "post-modern" age, he has
written a review of Charles Reich's
"The Greening of America" for the
Journal of Politics.

When one leaves his office, one
gets that rare feeling of having
learned something, and that what is
learned will not soon be forgotten.