Talk to Wooster
Fall 2007
Grant H. Cornwell
Teacher, 11th College of Wooster president, husband, sailor, philosopher,
basketball player,
father, professor, cook, scholar
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Story
In
the summers, he worked on a black bear project in northern Minnesota, studying
the habitat he had so loved as a youth. And to test his second interest, he
worked as an orderly at a hospital.
Graduation day came and went, and Grant’s future seemed foggy. Should he go on to study philosophy? Medicine? Biology? To sort things out, Grant went to Germany, where he studied German and the writings of the existential philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, and made elaborate plans to propose to Peg. A New Year’s rendezvous in Paris was the perfect setting for romantic persuasion: “I’m ready for this commitment,” he told her. “That’s great, Grant,” Peg replied. “I’m not.”
But things soon got sorted out. Peg eventually said “yes.” Grant found the perfect graduate program for his interests at the University of Chicago. The young couple lived in Evanston, near Peg’s job as a commercial lending officer for Chemical Bank.
The study that followed and the ideas it generated formed the basis for Grant’s own personal philosophy. For his dissertation, he looked at definitions of human goodness and to what extent they included duty to others. He read Aristotle and the early Greeks, who believed that wisdom and goodness are the only routes to happiness. But the Greeks’ code of ethics did not include a developed concept of human rights. “What do I owe you, or what do I claim from you?” were not part of their moral thinking.Grant turned to the philosopher Immanual Kant, who believed that all humans have intrinsic dignity and deserve respect.
Kant’s idea that a just and ethical life is one in which you respect the rights of others had great power, Grant believed. But he also thought that Kant’s philosophy took humans only so far. “It’s not enough. It misses matters of the heart.”Today, his personal beliefs are shaped by an added dimension. “Along with a respect for human dignity, I place a high value on compassion, well described in Buddhist thought,” he says. “It is so important to understand that each person you encounter every day is struggling with issues that are below the surface. It is important and valuable to lead with compassion for the circumstances of others.”
Tanner, Grant and Peg’s first son, left them with a deeper understanding of compassion. Their bright, happy three-year-old was diagnosed with leukemia in 1989, and for three years the family and its doctors battled the disease. “It was a time of great meaning and significance,” says Grant. “Although there was terrible sadness, it was not a depressing thing to live with, because Tanner brought such joy to life. Caring for him and each other was very, very difficult for Peg and me, but also very meaningful.”
Toward the end of his life, Tanner sat in his log cabin— one of his favorite Christmas presents, set up in his grandparents’ living room—and brought smiles to the people he loved. “He was just such a cool kid, more soul than body.” says Peg. “We had a great time together. He lived more in his six years than most people do in 60.”
In addition to the values of compassion and a respect for human dignity, Grant names a third value—justice—that has great meaning for him. “I think a part of everybody’s life’s work should be an awareness of the unequal distribution of power and privilege. As world citizens, we should be working toward ways to address inequalities at community, local, national, and global levels. Power and privilege should always be used to eliminate inequalities. That’s what justice means to me.”
