Photo carefully selected by Scot’s daughters
What’s the best way for others to collaborate effectively with you?Â
In-person and over coffee, where no one has anything to prove and therefore has something to give; when there is some clarity over the impossible outcomes we are jointly striving for.
What is an ordinary moment in your life that brings you joy? Â
Cooking with my daughters.
What is a motto or quote that you hold dear and why? Â
“Ideas matter because people matter.” I deeply believe in the integration of the theoretical and the practical, and the bottom line of impact on the individual.
What do you most like to do to unwind?
Walk through the woods or bang away on my guitar.
Where is the best place you’ve traveled to and why? Â
During my 20s, I lived in Ghana for two years (teaching) and loved so many aspects of its culture and communities. Not only am I still deeply influenced by Ghanaian approaches to caring for each other, hospitality, and wisdom, but any claim I make about what matters and what’s necessary for a meaningful life gets sifted through that experience and the question of whether my claim, if universally true, would render so many meaningful lives meaningless (and thus not true).
If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor?Â
If I could go back to my 20s, it would be Herr Professor Doctor Andreas Spira from the University of Mainz, whom I met in 1998 when he was in his 70s. He had exacting standards and deeply cared for people, and almost every German scholar of the next generation in my little field of expertise had been greatly impacted by him.
What is your guilty pleasure? Â
Popping a chocolate chip between bites of freshly popped popcorn because I think the small chocolate residue brings out more of the corn taste (as opposed to chocolate-covered popcorn, which is dreadful).
Which TV show do you never miss?Â
Currently, it’s the British show Slow Horses about a group of MI5 agents who have been exiled to the “Slow Horses” because they don’t quite fit in, and that resulted in messing up somehow. I have a deep empathy for the competent misfit and the messy person who still shows up for good.
What was the first concert you attended? Â
While I was in junior high in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, I saw a local garage band play at the Crystal Lake High School Field House for $1.85. The band was Styx, and they were just on the verge of breaking out beyond the Chicago music scene.
What is the best advice you have ever been given? Â
Some may think this explains a lot, but an advisor in grad school said, “If it’s worth doing well, it’s worth doing poorly.” That’s true in so many situations—a quick email response, circulating a draft of ideas, providing a two-page explanation when, with more time, I could have provided a better one-page explanation, actually grabbing 10 minutes with someone when two hours would be better (but impossible) ...