MAJOR MILESTONE
Hall of Famer Joe Torre a hit with Skidmore grads
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.
>> Pat Geiger hit .402 and was named Skidmore College baseball team’s Player of the Year this spring.
A New Jersey resident, he’s also a huge Yankee fan, which explains why he was thrilled to share the stage, however briefly, with Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre during the school’s 108th commencement at Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Saturday.
Torre, who founded organizations that help children affected by domestic violence, and Alan Lightman, a distinguished writer, educator, physicist, and social entrepreneur, were both awarded honorary degrees.
“It’s nice to have somebody we know,” Geiger said. “I’ll always remember Aaron Boone’s home run that won the 2003 pennant.”
Torre guided the Yankees to four World Championships, including three
straight from 1998-2000, and six American League flags during his 12 years in the Bronx. But one of his greatest accomplishments was simply maintaining control of a superstar-laden roster with no shortage of egos and contrasting personalities — and one of the game’s most volatile owners, George Steinbrenner.
“One thing I learned over the years, to be a leader, you have to listen a lot,” said Torre, before joining faculty and staff for a procession into SPAC’s amphitheater. “You can’t treat people all the same because they’re all different. You’ve got to put in the time. We wanted to get someplace, the postseason and World Series. Pretty much everybody committed to that. I just kept reminding them, ‘We all have to pull in the same direction.’”
Torre overcame personal adversity and childhood trauma and has used his experience to help others by establishing the Safe at Home Foundation and Margaret’s Place.
Lightman is a professor of the practice of the humanities at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the author of multiple books, including “Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine,” “In Praise of Wasting Time,” “The Accidental Universe” and “Einstein’s Dreams.”
“Einstein’s Dreams” was selected as the Class of 2019’s First-Year Experience reading assignment and informed, engaging discussions regarding the relationships between people and time.
Kristie A. Ford, professor of sociology and director of Skidmore’s Center for Leadership, Teaching, and Learning, was the keynote speaker.
Ford’s academic research focuses on race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, and social justice education. She is also the founder of the Intergroup Relations Program at Skidmore.
The Class of 2019 has 622 graduates from 35 states and 43 countries. Of these, 85 are first-generation college students.
Graduates include 175 members of national honor societies, 22 Phi Beta Kappa members, 77 student-athletes, six President’s Award recipients and three Fulbright scholars and semifinalists.
Bianca Thompson, a theater major from Massachusetts, said Skidmore far exceeded her expectations, even though it was the only school she toured when deciding where to attend college.
“I knew I wanted to come to Skidmore right away,” she said. “It just felt right. I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s been such a good fit for me. I’ve met the most amazing people in the world, and the theater department has been a huge part of my experience. I performed in a show every semester.”
Beyond acting, Thompson said she gained a wellrounded theater education, including things as choreography and costuming.
“I was just in the main stage production of Cabaret,” she said. “We don’t usually do musicals, just plays. I like to sing and dance, too, so it was exciting to do all of that at the same time. I feel like I’ve been able to branch out so much more than I thought I would as a freshman.”
Parker Dinsmore, of Portland, Me., majored in international affairs and Spanish.
“This day really means a lot to me because all my family and friends are here,” he said. “This is the end of a journey that I really feel like I started long before I made it to college. I’ve studied what I love, and I’m going to pursue what I’m passionate about. I would love to work internationally.”
Dinsmore, too, said he’s glad he chose Skidmore.
“Everyone’s really friendly and warm,” he said. “I learned so much from them because everyone’s so intellectual. Just the conversations with all my friends is what I’ll miss most.”
Mother Nature joined the celebration by providing a beautiful spring morning with bright sunshine, blue skies, and cool temperatures.
A large crowd of parents, relatives and family friends turned out to congratulate graduates and wish them well as they begin new ventures.
Earle Weiss traveled from San Francisco to see his daughter, Annika, receive her degree.
“We have family friends who all went to Skidmore,” he said. “Once we looked at it, we loved it. It was the perfect fit for Annika, the right size, the right curriculum. She studied biology and fine arts. She really wants to become a field botanist, and she loves to draw, so those two things go together.”
“The other reason we loved Skidmore is that coming from the Bay Area, it’s a good opportunity to see other parts of the country and meet other people,” Weiss said. “It really was the right call.”
Weiss said he and his wife have enjoyed their visits to Saratoga Springs.
“As a matter of fact, not knowing when we would be back, yesterday my wife and I, after visiting Congress Park and tasting one of the fountains, decided to go on a water tasting tour. We came up with the conclusion that the Columbia and the State Seal ones are drinkable. The rest of them, good luck!” he said, smiling.
Graduates are bound to encounter a difficult employer or supervisor at some point during their careers. Torre somehow managed to get along with Steinbrenner – “The Boss” – longer than any other Yankee skipper.
Of course, winning a World Series during his first year on the job didn’t hurt. That 1996 team ended the longest championship drought in franchise history.
By then, Steinbrenner had mellowed quite a bit from his early days with the team.
“I got George on the back nine,” Torre said. “He wasn’t the same guy that Billy Martin had to deal with. I got off on the right foot with George. We had a good relationship in spite of what people think.”
Skidmore grads are entering a world of fast-paced change, which has impacted baseball the same as many other fields. Analytics and terms such as a hitter’s launch angle and exit velocity weren’t even heard of in Torre’s day.
“We always called on stats and whatever we could muster up to help us make decisions,” he said. “The thing that frightens me about analytics is if we fall too far into it then we take away the instincts and human element, and I hate to see that happen. There’s no question you can’t have too much information, but you have to know how to apply it.”
Similarly, Torre said he’s confident the Class of 2019 “after graduating from Skidmore has the capability. It’s just a matter of applying themselves.”