Tracking down that answer.

It’s always interesting to try to pin down an answer to a question when you have incomplete information.

Example: You’re given names of three faculty members and asked when and what they taught. Hint: we think it was about 20 years ago.

Let’s see… We don’t have files by faculty names.

• College catalogs have the faculty listed.
• 20 years ago, let’s start with 1990 — nothing.
• Check catalogs going back 10 years at a time.
• Find one of the names in 1978. (20 years???)
• With each name there is a date for the year they started. Great, now go forward every year until they are no longer listed, then you know when they left.

The dates I came up with were 1967-79; 1961-66 and 1958-1965. Next problem, what courses did they teach?

• The courses are listed, but not the instructors.
• Check to see if there are any other faculty files anywhere.
• We have a some files described as “biographical information”.
• Find 2 names out of the 3.
• First has back type information only.
• Second…I can tell you what he was paid, when he asked to be excused from attending commencement. What’s this, a letter from the registrar telling him what rooms he was assigned for one semester, with the courses listed.

Well it’s better than nothing!