Posted on 07/12/2008 2:42:46 PM PDT by kristinn
Former Presidential Press Secretary Tony Snow, who died Saturday morning, was a 1977 graduate of Davidson College who remained engaged with the college throughout his professional career. Davidson presented him with its Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2002 when he attended his class’s 25th reunion.
Davidson College President Thomas W. Ross offered condolences to Mr. Snow’s wife, Jill, and the couple’s three children. “Tony was one of our most outstanding alumni and we are proud of all he accomplished and contributed as a journalist and government servant during his much too brief time with us,” President Ross said. “Even after his national success and fame, he returned often to the campus and was always accessible and willing to assist his alma mater.”
“Personally, Tony was a kind and thoughtful man,” the president said. “Even while fighting his courageous battle against cancer, he took the time to telephone me on my first day of work to express his good wishes and his continued commitment to Davidson. Tony was always available to help and support others no matter what the circumstances. He will be greatly missed by those of us who were privileged to know him.”
Mr. Snow majored in philosophy at Davidson, and made a strong impression on his political philosophy professor, Lance Stell. Mr. Stell recalled, “He really was a remarkable student,” he said. “As a matter of fact, he’s the only student who has ever challenged me to a debate. And it wasn’t just a fly-by-night idea. He followed up on it, secured a venue, and we had it. He assigned me to argue against the viability of libertarianism, and he argued for it. He was passionately interested in political philosophy, and believed deeply that people’s political beliefs had real meaning in the world.”
Mr. Snow was a great admirer of the substance and style of the late Professor Emeritus of Philosophy George Abernethy. In 1997, Mr. Snow wrote a syndicated Media General national column about his time as a student of Mr. Abernethy’s. “Once you got in George’s thrall, you stayed,” Mr. Snow wrote. “He enticed students with lectures of rare pith and energy. I did something for him I’ve never done before or since. I raced back to my room and reworked my notes to preserve as much as possible.”
Mr. Snow kept in touch with both Mr. Abernethy and Mr. Stell after college, and considered Mr. Abernethy a mentor/tutor. Mr. Snow wrote in his column, “He (Abernethy) read editorials and columns as meticulously as my old term papers. He suggested books and articles. He asked questions and displayed curiosity that was both flattering and daunting.”
Mr. Snow was an active Davidson student, and was named to both the Omicron Delta Kappa campus leadership honor society and to “Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities.” His peers elected him president of his senior class. He also won the college’s Vereen Bell Creative Writing Award, won a filmmaking award, and was elected to the Delta Sigma Rho honor society for debate. He was a member of the Eumenean Literary Society, played in the Pep Band, and served as a hall counselor for first year students. He debated and exchanged philosophical ideas in late night rap sessions, co-authored an underground newspaper that never quite made it to press, and was famous for playing Jethro Tull’s “Aqualung” on his flute.
“The Tony Snow I knew at Davidson in the 1970s was an astute thinker and a talented writer,” said Charles Cornwell, then an associate professor of English at Davidson. “His exuberance in the honest exchange of ideas was contagious. With his splendid sense of humor—always predicated on the follies of humankind but never censorious—he could charm and disarm the most obstinate opponent. Tony encouraged all of us who knew him to relish every moment of the life allotted to us. I shall miss him.”
His service as a Davidson alumnus included hosting an admission reception at his home shortly after graduation, representing Davidson at a Washington-area College Fair in 1985. He spoke at Davidson several times during his professional career. He delivered a keynote address during Homecoming 1999, and judged an English department writing competition that year. He spoke in 2002 when he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award, and was last on campus in April 2007, when he again spoke to students and alumni during Alumni Reunion Weekend.
Throughout his career as a syndicated columnist, television and radio journalist, and presidential speech writer and press secretary, Snow built a following of fans who appreciate his thoughtful style and courteous manner.
Mr. Stell noted that he was consistent in that attribute since Davidson. “He always refused to take cheap shots in discussions,” Mr. Stell said. “The ideas were important to him, rather than making other people look bad. He was someone the college could well be proud of. He has always represented our influences well, and if we can claim any impact on him, that’s to our credit.”
Nice tribute to an outstanding human being. Thanks for posting that.
Take that, AP!!!
From people who knew him!
Thanks for posting this Kristinn.
ping
We love you, Tony. You truly made a difference. Well done, faithful servant!
I remember being thrilled when several years ago I learned that Tony (who was only three years my junior) also had a degree in Philosophy. His major, his conservatism, his cheerfulness and his faith have all served as encouragement to me for my own choices. And his courage in the face of his mortality serves all of as an appropriate model. He is greatly missed already.
What an inspiring man on so many levels. Even though Tony Snow was only a few years older than me he reminds me a lot of my father who dies in 2003 from cancer at the age of 70.
The first step in solving any problem is to have a proper attitude. I think all the focus on Tony Snow's passing might help people remember this.
Prayers for the repose of his soul, and for his family.
Yes, it’s very sad. I don’t keep up with TV news much, so I didn’t know he was a Davidson graduate.
My daughter’s a rising junior there, and he had given several talks to the students. I believe he gave a commencement speech recently. He’s been a very active and involved alum.
A junior already? Tempus fugit! Anoreth (having declared herself a high school graduate) has been officially certified as one, and starts at Central Piedmont Community College in a month. She’s taking some basic courses - math, computer science, Spanish - but she’s really excited about Automotive Technology!
Hopefully by this time next week she’ll also have a job at the local PetsMart as their Reptile Care specialist. Most other girls don’t like reptiles, or the stuff they eat. Who’da thunkit?
She just got back from a month-long biology internship in Costa Rica, where she saw LOTS of reptiles . . . some cute, some not so cute. She liked the poison arrow frogs best, I think.
Tempus does indeed fugit . . . .
And we’re all a couple of years older than the last time we checked :-).
Tom loves poison arrow frogs. He’s giving a presentation on reptiles and amphibians to our homeschool group next week. Hopefully none of the herpets will poop on anybody ... He’d love to go to Davidson; maybe he’ll be one of my “good at tests” kids, which Anoreth wasn’t.
We’ll have to see whether CPCC runs any drama or music programs at our local branch, because Anoreth would really like the technical side with the electronics. We were fortunate that the nearby campus is the center of their automotive programs; she’d like to have an auto restoration business someday, and she can learn all the skills right here.
“...starts at Central Piedmont Community College in a month...”
...we’re big CPCC fans in our household...my wife is a high school drop out...she went to CPCC to get her GED and liked it so she stayed to take college courses...she liked that too so she transferred to UNC-Charlotte for her BA...from there she got her MA at UNCC....then she got a Fellowship with stipend at George Washington to get her PhD....the GW stint was a free $100 education....all because somebody down at CPCC gave her a chance back years ago!
My daughter actually gets PAID a substantial sum to set up mikes, do sound tests, light checks, etc. and run the mixer board during performances. She loves it.
. . . oh, and if reptiles poop on somebody, that’s a bonus! (you get to laugh at all the girly girls going, ‘OMG! OMG!’)
Nice to hear this and read about the honors Tony received in college.
LOL - Anoreth would enjoy that.
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