Last month I lost a good friend and mentor, Ray von Dran, dean of the Syracuse University school of Information Studies. This week I'm flying out to Syracuse for his memorial service. Thought I'd write a bit here.
I first met the Dean (I always called him "Dean") as a student of his at Syracuse University in 1996, enrolled in an undergraduate class he taught. I forget the name of the class, but the coursework consisted mainly of reading and dissecting business case studies. It was one of my favorite classes, but more importantly, the Dean was one of my favorite instructors. Later he joked that I was the only student who felt that way...I think that was the last year he taught it.
There were a few reasons why I especially liked & wanted to know him. First, he reminded me a lot of my father. In later years I got to introduce him to my Dad, and they became friends, as I knew they would -- after years of telling both of them that they remind me of the other.
But mostly, he was one of the only people I'd met in academia with whom I could really relate.
I’m not an academic. I was a terrible student in high school. I liked college and did well, but wasn't exactly working on my thesis like so many of my Silicon Valley brethren. (weird saying that, having just moved out west 3 years ago...)
The Dean devoted his life to academics, but he seemed different than his peers. He had a real New York sensibility, and didn't hold back what he thought. He was a bit of a goofball. He could simultaneously charm a crowd, while at the same time making totally inappropriate jokes. I liked that.
He also wore almost exclusively all black. Which was kinda cool, in a Johnny Cash kinda way.
We got to know each other more after I graduated and started freelance programming and running small Internet businesses, one of which would eventually become AdBrite. In fact, the Dean was instrumental in getting my first round of funding from Sequoia Capital, as my primary personal reference.
After starting AdBrite, I saw the Dean more regularly. He took me to dinner with his wife a few times in NYC, and I took him out whenever he was on the West coast. Sure we would talk about business and school, but mostly we talked about family, dating, and everything else two friends talk about.
...which was super cool to me, because the Dean was also a superstar not only at Syracuse University, but in academia in general -- the school became ranked #1 under his leadership. Have you ever become friendly with someone you really respected, before meeting? You kinda think to yourself, "wow it’s cool that I’m actually friends with this person..." Giddy, I know. But that's how it was.
The Dean later asked me to serve on the Syracuse University School of Information Studies' Board of Visitors, which is a board of advisors that consists of people "in the real world," who give the school direction from a non-academic point of view. I'm the youngest member -- the chairman is 82 years old. I think the board has been meeting quarterly since 1870.
The last time I saw the dean was in March at a board meeting. He announced that he was retiring, and the board would start searching for a new dean. Over dinner that night, we talked about his upcoming 1-year trip around the world that he was about to take with his wife.
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