Working with Ron

I have worked with Ron here at Macalester for about 15 years. He is one of the most kind, dedicated, smart, and generous people I have ever had the good fortune to know. I have been going back through some of the online chat messages Ron and I have exchanged over the years and they reinforce how strong all of these qualities shone through in him. Many of the messages are from him checking in on a question I sent to him (often while he was on vacation or at a conference and despite the fact that I specifically told him not to read the message until he was back at work:-), or offering a helping hand if I needed extra help on a project or a sub at the reference desk. Ron was so very generous with his time. Other messages were sprinkled with words of encouragement or advice. One in particular that jumps out to me was a message Ron had sent to me while he was away at a conference. It was right before I had my first child and was about to begin my parental leave. Ron checked in to see how I was doing. I had responded that I was feeling some anxiety. He responded with encouraging words and telling me what a GREAT mommy I was going to be. The library is going to be a different place without seeing Ron every day. His spirit will live on here at Macalester and he will be sorely missed by us all.

Contributed by Katy Gabrio

Ron and I worked on several projects that required editing: the data modules, for example, and the Education textbook project. As he described it, our process consisted of Ron writing, in a folksy style, many, many words. And then Beth comes in, slashing and burning away to make it all clear and concise. Naturally, we argued about it incessantly. And yet, we both agreed that the end result was all that we could hope for. (Well, maybe Ron would want a few more words and maybe I would want a few fewer.)

Contributed by Beth Hillemann