Faculty Senate Tribute to Patrick McGuire
The following text was written by Dr. Carter Wilson, President of the UT Faculty Senate, and read by him during the March 27, 2007 Senate meeting.
Tribute To Patrick McGuire
I need to begin my executive committee report with a few words of farewell and a tribute to a good friend and colleague, Patrick McGuire, who departed from us about a week and a day ago, March 18.
Patrick McGuire, devoted father and husband, is from up state New York. I heard him talk about his home in nostalgic, picturesque and poetic language. He spoke of enjoying the rolling green hills and clear waters and fly fishing. This past year he spoke of returning home.
Patrick McGuire joined the faculty at The University of Toledo about 20 years ago. He served as chair of the Faculty Senate about ten years ago. I served on his executive committee. Therefore it is fitting and it is an honor for me to say a few words of tribute to my friend and colleague.
Patrick McGuire was a prolific scholar, having published countless articles and several books. He had a background in political philosophy. In fact we had connected immediately when we discovered that we both had a background in political philosophy. Patrick had conducted considerable research on electric utility companies and community activism and engagement. In 1994 he earned the distinguished scholarly achievement award from the American Sociology Association for his book, From the Left Bank to the Mainstream; Historical Debates and Contemporary Research in Marxist Sociology.
His work on electric utilities lead to two major books, The Control of Power: The Political Economy of Electric Development in the United States, 1870-1930 and his most recent publication, The Social Construction of Industry; Human Agency in the Development, Diffusion and Institutionalization of Early Electric Utility Industry.
Patrick was the director of the Urban Affairs Center from 1999 up to 2005. Not only did he bring money into the Center, he brought faculty members together on collaborative research projects. He brought me and other faculty members including a few members of this Senate into a number of projects, particularly on urban education, predatory lending, neighborhood development, citizen action, and many others. He empathized with the downtrodden, the poor, the elderly and the homeless. Patrick believed in empowering people and he was committed to principles of social justice.
I remember several years ago saying to Patrick, after he had suffered disfiguring surgery and painful chemotherapy, “you have more courage than anyone I know.” Patrick said to me that this was not courage. He said that he was just doing what he needed to do to survive. As I look back in retrospect and when I learned that Patrick had driven himself to the hospital the night he died, I know that Patrick was too modest. He indeed had more courage and more strength than anyone I had even known.
I will never forget the first time I heard Patrick McGuire speak up at a Senate meeting. Frank Horton was the president of the university at that time. Frank had just addressed the Senate and asked for questions. Patrick, sitting in the back, was the first to raise a hand. Patrick said, “There is an old Gaelic saying, ‘It is hard for me to look a man in the eye who has his foot on my throat.’” Patrick was a passionate defender of the faculty. He believed that universities ran best with strong faculty input and with a strong faculty voice at the university level. He insisted that the concentration of power in a university president was a form of oppression. He believed that making radical changes in the university without effectively consulting with the faculty was oppressive, demoralizing to the faculty and destructive to the university. And when I see faculty members standing up and challenging unlimited presidential powers, I quietly say to myself that Patrick's spirit is still alive.
About two months ago, Patrick emailed me and expressed his concerns about the new administration. He wrote to me saying that he will not be around much longer, but if there is anything he could do to help to just let him know.
Patrick asked if we are going to be ok. My reply is that I don't know. It depends on our ability to persuade others of the importance of a strong faculty voice at the university level, our ability to make both administrators and board members understand that faculty involvement at the university level is essential for a healthy and well-functioning university and our ability, ourselves, to stand up for our principles and values.
When I remember Patrick I remember his support for a strong faculty senate, his general belief in empowering people. I remember his strong commitment to principle social justice. But what I remember most is his courage, his strength, his determination and his passion.
In a eulogy of a civil rights activist about 40 years ago, Ossie Davis spoke these words:
Consigning these mortal remains to earth, the common mother of all, secure in the knowledge that what we place in the ground is no more now a man—but a seed—which, after the winter of our discontent, will come forth again to meet us.
I salute Patrick McGuire: my good friend, this distinguished scholar, this committed activist, this defender of the faculty, and this most noble person. I bid farewell to your body. May your spirit remain with us.
