University Follies

Improbable appointment as a dean in a Jesuit university in San Francisco after Greenwich Village childhood, NYC teaching and years as dean in a secular Boston university sets the stage for an often humorous and sometimes painful memoir of a dean's journey that ends in 'The City.' Developed from a log kept over thirteen years as dean in San Francisco, Follies is a story of memories and life in a Jesuit university and in the Bay Area seen through the eyes of a dean who carries a residue of Catholic prejudice left by his youth and whose religious life has been limited to textbook teachings. Follies is tale of discovery, frustration and reward as the new dean seeks to realize program goals in his new Jesuit world buffeted by president, professor and student strivings and fears – and outright foolishness. Follies is a tale of day-to-day human strivings, frailties, humor and pain in a human institution in a vibrant city.