UMass Magazine Online

Spring 2004

Departments

Features

The Cosby Principle

The Wildest Place in Boston

Manhattan's Hottest Property

Setting the Record Straight

Feature

A Welcome Surprise




	Norma Jean Anderson, Bill Cosby and Provost Charlena Seymour pose on the ramp to the Whitmore Administration Building with a some very happy students. (photo by Ben Barnhart)

WE SYNCHRONIZED OUR WATCHES. THE photographer readied lighting and backdrops. The staff of Whitmore prepared for a visit from one of our most famous alums. Bill Cosby was due to arrive on campus at 11 o’clock on the dot to visit with Chancellor John V. Lombardi and Provost Charlena Seymour. Two triple lattes were to be fetched from Starbucks downtown at precisely 10:50 a.m. so our guest’s favorite beverage could be served piping hot.

Alas, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Despite giving back-to-back three-hour concerts the previous night, Bill Cosby got an early start from his home in Shelburne. He surprised us all when he pulled up on campus at 10 a.m., an hour ahead of schedule. While his early entrance created a bit of a tailspin in an otherwise carefully choreographed day, (Cosby and others from UMass Amherst were featured guests at an afternoon press conference in Athol), Cosby, friends and former faculty members were glad to have the extra time to visit.

“This is the woman who accosted me about earning my degrees here,” joked Cosby, as he hugged Norma Jean Anderson, who was an assistant dean at the School of Education in the 1970s. With smiles and embraces, Cosby and Provost Seymour caught up on family news; their children grew up together attending Amherst schools.

The least surprising element of the morning was the topic of conversation: the imposing challenges facing educators. From lack of funding for schools and how to reach the poorest students to Cosby’s dismay over the lax approach to parenting seemingly so common these days, profound philosophies and ideas were discussed and debated.

To be honest, Cosby stole the show. His gift for storytelling has enchanted audiences for more than 40 years, and the cozy group in the Chancellor’s office was not immune to his masterful skill. But as always, in Cosby’s telling, there is teaching, too.

“I was talking with one of my daughters,” said Cosby. “I held up a picture of her from when she was five years old. I said, ‘You are in charge of this person, and you’re not doing a very good job.’”

“Oh, that’s good,” said Seymour.

“I thought it was brilliant, and I’ve used it since,” said Cosby, setting up his punch line. “But the problem is … it has never worked.”

After a healthy lunch (Cosby’s latest title, I Am What I Ate … and I’m Frightened!!!, bemoans his doctor’s orders to give up pizza, cigars and ice cream), the party regrouped for the trip to Athol, but not before Cosby elicited laughs from a group of students gathered outside Whitmore. You could still hear their chuckles as he drove away.

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The Cosby Principle

Cosby: more images

A Welcome Surprise

Surprise: more images