Features
Beers with Ben at The Little Pub
By Ben Fields '15
May 15, 2015
What is your least favorite thing about humanity?
I don’t know how to say this: that some people–groups of people–are so incredibly mean, or have the capacity to be just mean. Not everybody, and most people, not at all, but some–surprisingly–can go there. Which is sad.
What is your favorite thing about humanity?
They can be really funny. People have the capacity to be hilarious.
Do you believe in aliens?
Yes. And I’ll tell you why and you can sort this out in any way. There was some news recently, photos taken from the Hubble Telescope showing just millions of different galaxies, so there’s just gotta be something else going on out there. Probably way cooler than what we’ve got going on down here. So yeah, if those are aliens I’m thinking there’s life out there.
Have you ever been offered a bribe?
I’m sure I have but I can’t think of a specific one. I’ve never taken it. Well, a few… you know I’ll buy you a beer if you’ll talk to me at the Pub… but that’s as bad as it gets.
How did you end up at Hamilton?
I got married and my husband was on his way to graduate school in Arizona. So the deal was, I will go there and the next move will be mine, or at least I could drive it. We were in Arizona, [ but our] family is on the East Coast, and then our oldest daughter was born out there, and it was just time to get closer to family. So we were coming back to the East Coast, I was in student affairs and this kind of position was the next thing that I was looking for. So we ended up here, and eventually my husband worked here as well, and it was a great move. It’s been a great thing.
What is your favorite thing about Hamilton?
It’s beautiful; I mean it’s just physically beautiful. But more than that, it’s a place where ideas are the currency, I guess. I enjoy that environment. I enjoy our students who are really smart and funny and quirky and generous and, you know, sometimes make mistakes, but I enjoy the whole thing. Mostly, I was thinking as I walked across campus today, it’s the ideas. I like the fact that we’re wrestling with ideas and moving forward. People are moving forward personally, [and] for the world I think in someway.
What would you change about Hamilton?
Well, I don’t mean to be shallow, but the climate. I would make the winter shorter, I think we would be happier if the winter was shorter. That has lots of implications.
If you weren’t Dean of Students, what would you be?
I spent sometime with my dad this winter hanging out in hospitals. He was in the hospital and I was hanging out. I thought, I would be in medicine, some aspect of medicine, maybe nursing. Nurses do amazing work.
Describe yourself in three words?
I am fair, patient and tall.
How would your friends describe you in three words?
They would say I am… they might say I’m funny, but I don’t want to sound like whatever that would sound like, but I can be very funny. And they would say I’m kind and tall.
How much did you drink in college?
[Laughs] I drank in college. How much? I drank on weekends, socially. But, I did not drink to the point where I didn’t know what was going on. That’s the thing that surprises me about students now: how many are willing to just totally not know what’s happening. Bad things happen when you don’t know what’s going on.
What’s your all-time favorite TV show?
Probably Mary Tyler Moore.
Favorite Disney Character?
Thumper, Tigger, Lumiere—I go for the comic sidekick more than the hero
Favorite Motto?
Leave a place better than you found it. I talked about this once in a convocation speech about beekeeping. Bees definitely do this, but we should too.
What Hamilton faculty or staff member would you want to sing karaoke with?
I should say Lisa Magnarelli. Probably Amy James, because she’s a singer.
Who would play you in a biopic about your life?
Probably Mary Tyler Moore circa 1976.
Who is your personal hero?
I would probably say my oldest daughter Liz. My younger daughter Kate might not be happy about that. Liz was a premie, 10 weeks early and had lots of challenges to overcome, and she’s done just incredibly well. I admire so much about her.
What dorm would you live in at Hamilton?
Rogers, absolutely Rogers. I wouldn’t want to be with 17 other students necessarily, but I think that’s a phenomenal residence hall. Just that view would be worth getting up for every morning.
If you could put your office anywhere on the campus, where would you put it?
Well my office was in KJ for the first 20 years that I was here, right where the restrooms are now on the first floor. There was a big plate glass window so Regina and Karen were out there, and then the offices were in the back. It was great because a lot of students stopped by, faculty stopped by, we were on the beaten path more than we are now. So I might put it back in KJ. But I don’t want that to sound like I thought that was a bad move, because I don’t, I like where we are now, I’ve got a beautiful office.
What building at Hamilton would you tear down or remodel?
Dunham. I’d take Dunham down and I’d put up a residence hall that worked.
What word would you remove from the English language?
Probably hate.
What superhero would you be, and would you dress up as him or her for a day of work?
For how much money? Well, I love the way Spiderman can fly around–just swing from thing to thing–so I might be Spiderman. I think if I dressed up as Spiderman for a day of work, that might freak people out. So probably not.
What three things would you bring on a desert island?
I would bring a piano, my family, I’d probably bring my iPad.
What’s your favorite word?
I can’t think of a favorite word.
What’s your least favorite word?
Orientate. If it is a word, it shouldn’t be. (I know I said hate, but I hate hate as a thing, not actually as a word.)
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Music and a good story, and when you combine those two it’s like a great movie with a good soundtrack.
What turns you off?
Selfishness.
Is there a sound you particularly love?
It’s the sound that you hear when you call to renew a prescription at CVS.
Is there a sound you particularly hate?
Loud angry voices.
Do you have a favorite curse word?
Yes… you want me to tell you what it is? I can’t tell you what it is, that would be inappropriate, but when I get really angry there is a word I use.
Assume heaven exists, what would you want God to say to you at the pearly gates?
Good job, come on in.
What would he actually say?
What were you thinking?
Have you ever killed a man just to watch him die?
Yes. [laughs] It was last Tuesday. Not that I recall.