Morse Master Wheeler bids farewell to the ax

Last week, students in Morse College received an e-mail from Master Stanton Wheeler and his wife, Associate Master Marcia Chambers, stating their intention to make this year their last as Masters of the college. "After some serious joint soul-searching and reflection, Marcia and I have decided that, much as we have loved the experience of overseeing Morse College, we should bring this chapter of our life to a close at the end of this academic year," Wheeler wrote. "We will continue to be active around the Yale campus, but we'll be able to devote more time to our own careers and interests." The Herald talked to Wheeler about what he intends to pursue upon leaving Morse College, and to reflect upon his time as Master.

DAVID GEST/YH After leaving Morse, Master Wheeler plans to spend some of his time studying both sentencing law and brass instrumental music.

Wheeler came to Morse six years ago after many years at Yale with a joint appointment in the Law School and the department of sociology. He helped develop the law and society concentration at the Law School and taught undergraduates in the sociology department. Although Wheeler had been on the board of fellows of Calhoun and Trumbull, he had no direct experience with Morse before becoming Master—and, he admitted, came to Morse with much the same prejudices against its architecture as those held by much of the student body. These prejudices, though, "disappeared when Marcia and I arrived here," he said. "We have grown to love the college, especially Eero Saarinen's architecture as it relates to the Master's house and the way it fosters college activities. Our living room is large enough that we are able to host many college events there." Wheeler also pointed out that Morse, unlike many of the other colleges, was designed specifically with the residential college system in mind. As a result, there are many large spaces for activities, and students are generally quite happy with their living accommodations.

What has made Wheeler and Chambers' time at Morse a pleasure is not the design of Morse, but rather the Morse students themselves. "They are an amazingly vital yet diverse bunch," Wheeler said. "Marcia and I will savor memories of them from our earliest experiences with entering freshmen to the last Mellon Senior Forum," a chance for seniors to share their projects with their peers. The Master has worked to develop a sense of community in Morse, and is proud of "making college life more than a late night return to a dorm room." If he has accomplished anything, he said, "it is to have helped shape a vibrant community, with the student at its center but also including the Dean and resident fellows, the staff, and the faculty and associate fellows of the college."

But Wheeler was quick to note that the job of being a college Master is a strenuous one. "The jobs of Master and Associate Master are defined as part-time positions, but they have a way of eating into the time for reflection and scholarship that led many of us into academia in the first place," he said. "On any given day, a Master may be confronted with dozens of issues large and small. Many of these are issues that are essentially unseen save by those immediately affected—individual students in need, issues involving the physical plant, and in particular issues involving the various bureaucracies that so affect daily conditions of life for students and for all of us." Though Morse has a popular Dean and an effective staff to help with such matters, he explained, "they still take time, and that—precious time—is what we hope to regain."

For the time they gain, Wheeler and his wife have many things planned. "Marcia will do more journalistic writing, and I'll return to projects pushed slightly to the back burner," he said. He hopes to pursue one interest in particular, "a continuing interest and concern for federal sentencing guidelines, particularly the extent to which they issue special breaks to those offenders who inform on others," he said. He also spoke of his interest in brass instrumental music; he is a trumpet player in his spare time. He explained that he wants to do more research in this area, calling it "a joining of my academic and avocational interests."

Wheeler, however, does not plan to leave Morse entirely behind . "One of the best things about being Master of Morse is getting to be a life-term fellow of the college," he commented. "Morse has been an essential part of Marcia and my lives for the past six years. We plan to stay involved with those students whom we've come to know and love."

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